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A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Alfred University Women in El Salvador: from Civil War to Postwar to Present Erika Aleman I

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A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Alfred University Women in El Salvador: from Civil War to Postwar to Present Erika Aleman I A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Alfred University Women in El Salvador: From Civil War to Postwar To Present Erika Aleman In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Alfred University Honors Program May 8, 2013 Under the Supervision Of: Chair: Dr. Jeffrey Sluyter-Beltrao Committee Members: Dr. Laura Greyson Dr. Robert Reginio In the 1980s, El Salvador underwent a long lasting, violent civil war. This war, though high in casualties and extremely traumatic for those who endured it, provided the opportunity for political change in the Central American country. The revolution helped shape political agendas and society seen in El Salvador today, but the subject is rarely spoken about in Latin American politics courses. Usually themes such as feminism, war, violence, and political developments in Latin America are applied to other influential countries like Mexico, Brazil, or Argentina. The academic works on these countries identify patterns of political changes in Latin America, but I would like to focus solely on El Salvador. My parents immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in an effort to escape the violence of the revolution during the ’80s. They would tell my siblings and me about the brutality of the war and made an effort to keep my family aware of its importance. Their distaste for the revolution was apparent, but it seemed that they were very desensitized to the extreme violence they were witnesses to all those years ago. Their tranquil tones when describing these situations only increased my curiosity. The atrocious human rights violations during this 12-year period were never a secret to me when I asked, but what baffled me the most was how “normal” it seemed to be for my parents. My research on El Salvador began when I entered Alfred University, and my interest grew as I took courses on international politics. New knowledge about the politics of revolution allowed for better, more in-depth discussions with my parents about the motivations and issues that lay behind the war. When my mother recounted her story about her attempt to join the left- wing FMLN (Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front) group, my curiosity was piqued. That news sparked an interest to research revolution and political change from a minority perspective that is rarely spoken about in Central America scholarship: women. The objective of my independent research is to compare and contrast women’s roles, rights, and influence in politics before and after the revolutionary war in El Salvador. It is important to analyze the feminist agenda during the war, rights that women had gained or lost during the war, and progress since then. I also identify the roles women filled during the war, how feminist agendas are being dealt with in El Salvador today, the changes of women’s roles since the war, and the national changes brought about with the rise to power of the FMLN after years of rule by ARENA (Nationalist Republican Alliance and the current right-wing political party). Women Joining the FMLN Women in guerrilla movements faced different hardships than men throughout the civil war. Although the FMLN (Frente Farabundo Marti para la Liberacion Nacional) was considered to be less sexist than the society in which it was formed, women constantly faced discrimination and threats within this group, all through the war, and thereafter. One of the most important factors to consider is the societal context that gave women the desire to join in dangerous combat against their repressive government. Karen Kampwirth in her book, Women & Guerrilla Movement: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Chiapas, and Cuba, explains the factors that led to mobilization of women to revolutionary activism and guerrilla movements. After analyzing interviews of guerrilla women, Kampwirth identified multiple influences that led the “radical” involvement of women in armed resistance movements. One of the factors was a history of repressive governments. Before the peak of the civil war, El Salvador had gone through decades of oppression by elites. Rural poor and indigenous peasants carried on the legacy of Commandante Farabundo Marti, a communist revolutionary leader that united and organized masses of indigenous peasant farmers into a guerrilla force that revolted against the repressive military dictatorship of El Salvador. Their rebellions ultimately led to the infamous day known as “La Matanza” (The Massacre). La Matanza took place in 1932 and was a mass execution of indigenous people by the Salvadoran government as a response to the insurgency. Under the order of dictator Maximiliano Martinez, the Salvadoran military liquidated targeted villages. It is said that anyone who resembled or even dressed like an indigenous person was murdered. This military action obliterated much of the indigenous population in the country, quickly suppressed the rebellion, and caused a death toll of about 30,000 people. The use of severe oppression underlay a long reign of military presidents in El Salvador, some using more force than others, but tyranny did not derail the memory and legacy of La Matanza and Farabundo Marti. Poor families and survivors of these regimes were essential in continuing the message of Farabundo Marti by promoting his ideology using intimate family ties and close communities. This gave the newer generations a sort of inheritance of repressed ideology, and this inheritance allowed them to draw correlations between their current living situations and what Farabundo Marti fought for. “Family networks were the single most important network that channeled the women interviewed into revolutionary activism,” argues Kampwirth (60). Close relationships to family members who were politically involved, faced prior oppression, or supported the revolution had strong influences over women, and posed a threat to family safety. It was fairly common for the family members of a military target to be harassed, kidnapped, tortured, or even killed. Another factor that influenced women to join the war effort was their participation in student organizations (Kampwirth, Women & Guerrilla 65). University students developed the capacity to comprehend the political issues facing El Salvador in a different manner than the urban poor. A university education provided students with the advantage of available academic resources, the capacity to think critically about their government, an opportunity to discuss and analyze their current condition, and the possibility of gaining additional information. Due to their privileged circumstances, college students also had more willingness and time than the working class to participate in revolutionary activities. As Julie Shayne points out “Universities are, typically, the nexus for the development of revolutionary ideas” (41). A third and equally important factor that led women to join the FMLN was Church involvement. Liberation theology paved the way for a massive response against the authoritarian government in El Salvador. This type of Catholicism was not limited to El Salvador; liberation theology was actively promoted in various Latin American countries at the time, including Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, and Brazil. “In response to the Bishops Conference in Medellin in 1968, the progressive Salvadoran Catholic Church began to define poverty and oppression of the masses as a sin” (Stephen 811). Church priests, like Oscar Romero in El Salvador, became increasingly powerful and the most important voice against inequality and government violence. The assassination of Oscar Romero was a pivotal event for many, fueling their decision to join the guerilla movement. Women’s Roles and Patriarchy in the FMLN Throughout modern history, women have played pivotal roles in countless revolutions, although they were rarely recognized by male counterparts, who “naturally” gained more notoriety. As Cuban revolutionary Che Guevarra in Guerrilla Warfare states: Women can play an extraordinarily important role in the development of a revolutionary process. This must be emphasized, for those of a colonial mentality tend to underestimate and discriminate against women. They are capable of the most difficult deeds, of fighting with the troops, and they do not cause sexual conflicts among the troops, as has been charged. Women, although weaker than men, are no less resilient. (Shayne 45) Many goals of the Salvadoran guerrilla group FMLN would not have been achieved or carried out without the strategic help of women. Women represented about 35% of FMLN forces, yet were continuously underrepresented and discriminated against within the group. During the revolution most women were used logistically, taking on communication, networking, and “care taker” roles. This included health and first aid services, food distribution, and political/diplomatic work (Shayne 36). It was also rare to find a woman who was able to advance into the decision-making positions of the FMLN. Women did not gain membership in the higher ranks of the FMLN easily. Irma Amaya, an ex-combatant and elected representative of the FMLN stated: For a man it was easy, because just by virtue of being a man, having a penis, that already earned him a vote of confidence to put them in charge. But being a woman, no; women had to prove two, three or more times, as many as necessary to demonstrate that they could do it too. (Shayne 40) The few women that rose in the ranks within the FMLN were usually educated women who came from middle-class households. Poor families produced few highly educated women due to their lack of money, while also emphasizing the idea that women must dedicate all of their time to the family. The oldest daughter would take care of whole families, and those who were married dedicated their lives to their husband and children. Middle-class students, on the other hand, had the free time and autonomy to be more deeply involved with the FMLN movement. Within Salvadoran culture at the time were found broad stereotypes of femininity. Many believed that women followed a higher code of morality. “Hence, their roles are not only confined to attack missions, but also conflated with societal images of women’s responsibility” (Sajjad 4).
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